GREENSBORO, N.C. — Penn State Altoona baseball’s senior first baseman Catcher Cumming (Altoona, Pennsylvania/Altoona) and freshman third baseman Jake Hillard (State College, Pennsylvania/State College) were each named to the third team of the 2021 American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings NCAA Division III All-Mideast Region team.
Cumming and Hillard have garnered multiple individual awards since the conclusion of the 2021 season, recognizing each player for outstanding performance on the field this spring. Cumming was voted the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference’s Player of the Year and also took first team All-Conference honors, while Hillard was the AMCC Newcomer of the Year and was also a first team All-Conference selection. Earlier today, Hillard was named to the second team of D3baseball.com’s All-Mideast Region team.
Cumming enjoyed a stellar senior season with the Nittany Lions. He led the AMCC in home runs (9) and slugging percentage (.778) while also ranking fourth in total bases (70), fifth in runs batted in (31), seventh in triples (2), 10th in runs scored (28), 11th in batting average (.378), 14th in on-base percentage (.458), 15th in hits (34), 17th in sacrifice flies (2), 19th in hit by pitch (4), 29th in walks (11), and 33rd in doubles (5). The senior was also impressive in the field, compiling a .994 fielding percentage while ranking fifth among all AMCC fielders in putouts (168) and 12th in double plays (11).
Cumming also etched his name in the team’s single game and single season record books this season. The first baseman set a new Penn State Altoona baseball record for the most home runs in a game, hitting three on April 3 against Medaille College. 14 days later, Cumming matched that record by hitting three more home runs in a game versus Pitt-Bradford, during which he also set a new program single game record for total bases (13). By season’s end, Cumming’s .778 slugging percentage had set a new Penn State Altoona baseball single season record.
During the season, Cumming was named the AMCC Player of the Week on April 5, then took D3baseball.com Team of the Week and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division III National Hitter of the Week honors over the following two days.
This is the first ABCA/Rawlings All-Region recognition for Cumming in his collegiate baseball career.
Hillard emerged as one of the top hitters in the AMCC this season in just his freshman year. In the conference, he ranked second in total bases (73), third in slugging percentage (.737) and doubles (13), fourth in RBI (32), 11th in hits (37), 14th in batting average (.374), 17th in sacrifice flies (2), 19th in runs scored (25), 20th in triples (1), 26th in on-base percentage (.418), and 39th in walks (9). In the field, the freshman was 21st in assists (35) and 29th in double plays (4).
Hillard tied a pair of Penn State Altoona baseball single game records this season, collecting five hits in a game against Wilson College on April 8 and hitting three doubles in a game against Medaille on April 3. This spring, he received the AMCC Player of the Week award on May 3 and was named the NCBWA Division III National Rookie of the Week on May 5.
Penn State Altoona baseball finished its 2021 season with a 12-15 overall record, including going 9-7 in the AMCC to take fifth place in the conference’s regular season standings. The Lions earned a berth into the conference tournament, where the team lost in the quarterfinal round in a best-of-three series with Alfred State College.